1. Field
The disclosed aspects relate to integrating and/or switching between unicast and multicast transmissions.
2. Background
Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as voice, data, and so on. These systems may be multiple-access systems capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing the available system resources (e.g., bandwidth and transmit power). Examples of such multiple-access systems include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, and orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems.
Further, wireless communication systems can provide for content providers to broadcast, multicast and/or unicast content to access terminals (ATs). As used herein, broadcasting content includes to both broadcasting and multicasting content. For example, one such wireless communication system includes a High Rate Packet Data (HRDP) system. A HRPD system is a high speed data transmission system that can support unicast and a broadcast/multicast service (BCMCS) transmission mode simultaneously. In unicast transmission mode, higher link efficiency can be achieved for point to point communication due to link adaptation, while in BCMCS transmission mode, multiple users can share the same forward link channel using the maximum transmission rate that can be achieved at cell coverage.
Currently, although systems allow for simultaneous transmissions in both unicast and BCMCS modes, the two modes are transmitted using different setup and transmission configuration parameters. Thus, improved apparatus and methods for integrating and/or switching between unicast and multicast transmissions are desired.